The
Jack in the Green tradition developed from the 17th Century custom of
milkmaids going out on May Day with the utensils of their trade - silver
cups, pots, spoons - decorated with garlands and piled into a pyramid
which they carried on their heads. By the mid eighteenth century other
groups, notably chimney sweeps, were moving in on the milkmaids'
territory as they saw May Day as a good opportunity to collect money.

Over
the last 25 years several popular festivals have grown up around the
Jack in the Green tradition. These are mostly on the May bank holiday
weekend at Bristol, Brentham in North Ealing, Guildford, Hastings,
Knutsford, Oxford, Rochester and Whitstable.

The
Hastings and Rochester gatherings are now very large festivals. In
contrast, the Deptford Jack in the Green, in South East London, is not
very widely known although it has been running since the early 1980s.

Contact us:S.J.Crofts(@)gre.ac.uk

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